Skate board



Marrch 21, 1967 W. HANNA ET AL SKATE BOARD Filed Sept. 30, 1965 m Wm WM IN VENT OR. 5 ELUS W, HANNA 5km N. ELEY United States Patent 3,310,320 SKATE BOARD Ellis W. Hanna, 3154 E. Weaver Place, Littleton, Colo. 30120, and Fred N. Eley, 7051 E. 60th, Commerce City, Colo. 80022 Filed Sept. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 506,616 7 Claims. (Cl. 280-8104) This invention relates generally to recreational devices and more particularly to a novel skate board.

Skate boards are a recreational device upon which the rider usually balances himself on one foot or both feet and coasts over the supporting surface after imparting an initial starting force. Heretofore, skate boards have generally utilized an elongated platform of generally rectangular shape having forward and rear wheels similar to those employed on roller skates which are attached to the underside of the platform. This arrangement has limitations as to the supporting surface area for the feet of the rider and is limited to the amount of shift in direction which may be made during movement. In addition, the rolling action may be impaired by abrupt turns.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a novel skate board which is simple, durable and easily manipulated and has ample supporting surface for both feet of the rider.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel skate board which may be shifted abruptly from one direction to another without substantial binding in the casters.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel skate board which requires substantial skill in balancing on and movement of the skate board.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds. For a better understanding of this invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of a skate board embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the skate board shown in FIG. 1 which is supported on a horizontal surface in a preferred balancing position on one outer and the inner caster; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the skate board illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 includes a platform member 2, preferably of uniform thickness which is of a durable material such as Fiberglas, hard plastic or various types of wood.

Three outer casters 3, 4 and 5 are attached in uniformly spaced relation to the underside of the platform member 2 and are preferably disposed at the apexes of an equilateral triangle configuration illustrated by broken lines at 6. The preferred shaping of the platform member 2 is that of an equilateral triangle with the corners rounded as is illustrated, but it is understood that a variation in this shaping which generally conforms to'the configuration of the outer casters 3, 4 and 5 is also suitable. For example, the sides may be slightly arcuate so long as the overhang between any two outer casters does not impair the movement of the skate board when a particular movement such as turning or other change in direction is made.

An inner or center caster 8 is attached to the underside of the platform member 2 in a central position. The exact center of the triangular configuration of the outer casters which is centrally of the triangle configuration and equidistant from the outer casters is the preferred and most suitable position, and although some variation from this exact center may be provided, any slight variation "ice therefrom is likely to result in some loss of balance capability.

Inner caster 8 extends a greater distance from the platform member than outer casters 3, 4 and 5. This is provided in the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by using a larger ball and socket caster for inner caster 8 which has a ball bearing of greater diameter than the outer casters. An extension range of the outer caster over the inner caster from the platform member of about oneeighth to one-half inch has been found most suitable.

In skating on a skate board embodying the present invention, one or both feet of the skater are disposed on the upper surface platform member 2 and the body weight is shifted to balance the rider on one or a plurality of the casters. While it is possible to balance on the center caster 8, singly, the preferred balancing position is illustrated in FIG. 2 wherein the center caster 8 and one side caster 3 are shown in contacting relationship with a horizontal supporting surface 10. For some skating the center and two outer casters in contact with the supporting surface may be used, but the preferred balancing arrangement is with the center caster and any one of the three outer casters.

The structural detail of caster 3, shown in FIG. 3, is illustrative of a suitable ball and socket type caster and it is understood that the same type of caster or its equivalent is used for all of the above referred to casters 3, 4, 5 and 8. Caster 3 comprises a generally cylindrical housing 12 which supports a ball bearing 13 in a depending slidable relationship. A spacer bearing 14 is fitted between the inner wall of the housing and the top surface of the ball 13 to hold it snugly in the housing. Thetop of housing 12 has a fiat flanged portion which is secured to the bottom surface of the platform by fasteners 15 extending therethrough. It is understood, however, that each caster may be secured to the platform member in various ways, such as adhesive or molding it as an integral part of the platform member. The preferred material of ball bearing 3 is a hard fiber such as nylon which reduces friction and noise in combination with a metal housing 12.

While a ball and socket type caster is a commercially available surface contact means between the platform member and the supporting surface which provides the requisite universal sliding movement without bind, it is understood that other surface contact members exhibiting the same movement would be suitable. Particularly, when the skate board is to be operated on rough or uneven surfaces, it may be desirable to employ a swivel type wheel caster in place of the ball and socket type shown in FIG. 3. This arrangement places most of the users weight over the wheel portion which will travel readily over uneven surfaces and even if the balls of the outer caster members are damaged to some extent in the passage over uneven surfaces, the general action of the board will not be appreciably impaired by such damage.

For most purposes, a hard ball such as previously described will withstand the normal wear encountered in its use without significant damage to its exterior surface.

A skate board constructed as shown may be of various sizes and dimensions, but it has been found that a platform member having 18 inch sides and an outer caster of 1% inches length and inner casters of 1% inches length is satisfactory.

Although a preferred embodiment has been shown and described, it is understood that modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. A skate board comprising a platform member, a plurality of outer casters attached to the underside of the platform member and disposed at the apexes of an equilateral triangle configuration on the underside of the platform member, and a center caster attached to the underside of the platform member centrally of the triangular arrangement of the outer casters and extending a greater distance from the platform member than the outer casters.

2. A skate board according to claim 1, wherein said platform member is of generally triangular shape with the outer casters disposed at the corners thereof.

3. A skate board according to claim 1, wherein said casters are of the ball and socket type.

4. A skate board according to claim 1, wherein said casters are of the ball and socket type with the center caster of greater diameter than the outer casters.

5. A skate board according to claim 1, wherein said center caster extends below said outer casters in the range of from one-eighth to one-half inch.

6. A skate board according to claim 1, wherein the sides of the platform member conform generally to the configuration of the outer casters.

7. A skate board comprising a platform member, a plurality of outer casters attached to the underside of the 4, platform member and disposed at the apexes of an equilateral triangle configuration on the underside of the platform member, and a center caster attached to the underside of the board member disposed centrally of the triangluar configuration of the outer casters and equidistant from said outer casters, the center caster extending a greater distance from the platform member than the outer casters.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 887,812 5/1908 Johnson. 1,467,453 9/ 1923 Remacle. 2,219,905 10/1940 Prickman 280 87.01 X 2,351,293 6/1944 Saunders 272-52 3,197,227 7/1965 Anselmo 28079.1 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 135,503 11/1933 Austria. 494,395 3/ 1930 Germany.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SKATE BOARD COMPRISING A PLATFORM MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF OUTER CASTERS ATTACHED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE PLATFORM MEMBER AND DISPOSED AT THE APEXES OF AN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE CONFIGURATION ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE PLATFORM MEMBER, AND A CENTER CASTER ATTACHED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE PLATFORM MEMBER CENTRALLY OF THE TRIANGULAR ARRANGEMENT OF THE OUTER CASTERS AND EXTENDING A GREATER DISTANCE FROM THE PLATFORM MEMBER THAN THE OUTER CASTERS. 